Let’s Talk Water…
I am a huge fan of water. A lot of my locations have water close by. And if you are a senior wearing a snappy outfit, have the vibe, odds are I will capture a few images of you in the water. Dare I venture to say – and families. But don’t make water about your session if you want to bring a fishing pole and you really don’t fish a lot. I want you to be you and yes, you probably are not walking around in the water all your high school years, but if you fish… really fish, then bring the ‘A’ game and we’ll fish during your session.
What to expect with water in your session. I don’t normally photograph that till the end. This means you need to put feet into the water. Where we go; there is dirt, mud, etc. and we need to dry off your feet, and I like to save the ‘best for the last’. There is splashing sometimes so I want to make sure that hair is dry throughout the session as well, makeup stays fresh – the works. Sometimes our sessions are during hot weather and a small dip in a river is the cooling off you need.
How high is high with the water? Every season the water level will change, depending on the snow we received or the rain we have had recently. In some locations, the water level changes each week. It can be rushing water and the next a trickle. I am very aware of that, and concerned for your safety, as you are the one getting into the water. I do have water boots. And in some places, I don’t need to go into the water so it is you that I am concerned about. If you feel hesitant about going in, or if I have concerns, we either find another place or skip out on the water. My goal is to provide you an extraordinary senior session but safely too.
Let’s see some sessions that involved water. Each explains something unique about the session and what to expect. If you have followed me on social media, you know that I have a bucket list of unique senior sessions… it’s never-ending – and I won’t hide that I would love to photograph an avid water skier. I see this type of session a lot in the south where water is abundant, but I know we have some great lakes close by that would make this possible. I am just throwing it out there. 🙂
Top image: Probably one of my favorite water sessions. Dylan (’21 Legend) said he wanted to have some fishing in his portraits. When you put in a request like this, I really dig in with the questions so that I can figure out the best location on how we are going to achieve this portion of your portraits. He spent like his entire summer cross-country around lakes that summer so I knew this guy was serious. I told Dylan and his mom – to bring the ‘A’ game – everything from the fishing line to the hat, the vest… EVERYTHING! As we are out at the parking lot, he is getting his fly fishing rod ready and Mom made a joke ‘We are here for pictures’ I was fine with it. Sure enough, while we were out in the water he caught three fish!
Rained Out
What would water be without rain? We did some pictures near a river, but when I found out she played tennis, I asked Autumn (’23 Chaparral) could we meet a night later down at the Parker Tennis Court and use the lighting from the courts for a few epic images. When we arrived, we could see the lightning and hear the thunder off in the distance but I told her “just a few minutes” and next thing you know – it’s starting to rain. I told her one more image. The rain would make it oh more so stunning and it did! One of her favorites (and mine)!
It’s All in the Stance
I’m all about transparency. Visit my site and I’ll show you all my sessions. And I know I look old and probably don’t know much (I am a mother after all) but when I tell you it will look great, trust me. I know what I’m doing. Marco (’21 Grandview High) thought that. But I convinced him to push the pants up and ‘own that senior name’ and he rocked it. What you won’t see is that his girlfriend Maria walked out onto a huge fallen tree that was out on the river and when jumping off it, missed the jump and fell into the water! Yes! It happens! But it was at the end of the session so no harm was done. What Marco won’t tell you is that it was April when he walked into the stream and it was really cold. He was in the river less than 3-4 minutes.
Don’t Push Me!
When Andrew (’19 Ponderosa) said he wanted to add his lifeguard work to his senior portraits, I was all in! When we talk pools, you need to provide the pool. I don’t have the ability to ask any pool for the use of photos if you don’t work there. We kept Andrew’s session close to the location where he worked, and then we spent the last 20 minutes of his session at the pool. Again, a very close friend of the family and Andrew was ok if Dad push him into the pool. A really cool animated gif came from it. 🙂
Last Call!
Not a week later after posting a sneak peek of Andrew’s lifeguard session, Emily (’19 Chaparral) who had already booked me saw his post and she was messaging me “I am a lifeguard at H2O’Brien Pool in Parker!” What makes her session so special to me, I went out to H2O’Brien on the last day the pool was open. It had just closed, she was the only one there and we just took a lot of fun images, making this a very unique session for Emily.
Girls Just Want to have Fun!
I am always wanting to try something once, and when I talk to my seniors about their session prior to the day- I ask a lot of questions and throw out some ideas, maybe they need help with what they want from their senior session. Megan (’18 Legend) wanted water and I asked, “want to get all in?”. I have seen some girls lay down in the water – another bucket list session I want to do. Megan was all for it, so I told her to go buy a dress from Goodwill (really!) that she liked but would be ok with getting wet. I don’t want you getting something wet that has to be dry-cleaned! She looks great, but our timing of the sun setting was off, so I practically photographed her in the dark. I want to do this again, but in a different type of water setting but we had fun!
All in the Family
Yep. And the entire family! This was such a fun session. I was in between photographing JP’s (’16 Legend) senior portraits and gearing up to photograph Allison’s (’17 Legend) senior portraits. Mom wanted family photos and I love the classic white on jeans in the summer look and their outfits just pop! What I remember about this session is that I was in a cast from an ankle break just a month earlier. JP and Allison suggested they wanted to go into the water for a photo together. I agreed and would stay on the bridge to keep the cast safe, and I really couldn’t climb down to the river with the cast on. LOL. As I am taking photos of the kids, I hear a swishing below me, meaning someone else is walking in the water and next thing you know, pants rolled up Mom and dad are out there too! Definitely one of my favorites!!!
